Modi said whenever his government was criticised by select opposition parties, substance was lacking in their arguments as they would go back to saying -- "when we were in power".

Country suffering due to 'wrong' policies of Congress, says PM Modi in Lok Sabha

In a scathing attack on the Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the country has been suffering due to the "wrong" policies it has pursued since independence and that the party has spent time singing paeans to one family instead of focusing on people's welfare.

Replying in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on President's address, Modi also criticised the opposition party over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, alleging that it did so only for "political" considerations without any preparation for which the people were facing hardships.

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how far sighted decision-making is done," the prime minister said amidst protests by Congress members who shouted slogans seeking justice for Andhra Pradesh.